South Fulton woman says she’s been swatted 9 times, fears for her family’s safety
A South Fulton woman says she has been the victim of swatting nine times over the last several years, and she wants police to do more to stop it.
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Pamela Harris says officers have repeatedly shown up at her home after someone made false reports to law enforcement.
“2022, ’23, ’24, ’25, and I’ve been swatted this year two or three times,” Harris told Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers.
In total, Harris says it has happened nine times. She showed Channel 2 Action News several incident reports documenting the calls over the years.
Swatting involves someone making a false report designed to trigger an emergency law enforcement response at another person’s home or location.
Harris says she does not know who is behind the calls or exactly why she is being targeted, but she believes her involvement in the South Fulton community may be a factor.
“Was it something I said? You know, I’m very active with the city of South Fulton,” Harris said. “I think it’s been a means to intimidate me or to silence me.”
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Harris said she also contacted the FBI about the swatting in 2023, when she was running for office. She said the calls stopped for a period of time before eventually starting again.
Her most recent encounter with police happened on Oct. 11. Harris shared Ring camera video with Rogers showing an officer at her home responding to yet another call.
The FBI says false reports like these can drain law enforcement resources and create dangerous, stressful encounters for victims and responding officers.
“When these calls happen, these false threats lead to law enforcement resources being expended to respond,” FBI Supervisory Special Agent Joe Zadik said.
The FBI advises people who find themselves the target of a swatting call to follow the commands of responding law enforcement officers.
“Often times, the victim is not going to know this is happening, so their contact when law enforcement shows up is going to be very stressful,” Zadik said.
The FBI says public figures can be targets of swatting, but anyone can become a victim, particularly when personal information or phone numbers are publicly available or exposed through a data breach.
Rogers contacted the South Fulton Police Department to ask what it is doing to investigate or prevent the repeated calls involving Harris. The department had not responded yet.
“The police department is supposed to protect me,” Harris said.
She says the repeated incidents have left her worried not only about her own safety but also about the safety of her 92-year-old father, Reggie Collins.
“It’s not only scary. It aggravates me. It makes me angry,” Collins said. “First off because I’m asleep, and why would you want to have that. If we needed the police, we would’ve called the police.”
Despite the repeated incidents, Harris and Collins say they will not be driven from their home.
“I’m not ready to go, not for something like this,” Harris said. “This is ridiculous.”
Harris plans to contact the FBI again on Friday.
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